The Ones Left Behind
by like-vines-we-intertwined
Summary: What happens to the victims of CHERUB missions? The ones with their lives ruined? Rated T for snogging, violence, death and language. It's only as bad as your average cherub book. Please enjoy, R and R! Should I write more, or leave it here?
1. Chapter 1: Kisses

The Ones Left Behind

**The Ones Left Behind**

_So you are aware that CHERUB agents help the government and carry out missions __that can help thousands or millions of people in the long term, but what about the devastation they leave behind? What about Junior Moore, in CHERUB: Class A (a.k.a. The Mission), a boy who had his father taken away, and truly believes that James Adams is his friend. This story delves deeper into the 'victims' of the CHERUB operations. The children whose lives are torn apart by children who are doing 'good'. The ones left behind. _

**KISSES**

Lauren Adams walked over to her target, Tom Bourne. He snaked his arm round her waist. The mission briefing had stated that 13-year-old Lauren must at least 'befriend' Tom, the son of a huge cannabis dealer. Lauren was perfectly happy to do a whole lot more. Tom was effortlessly good looking, as well as being intelligent and thoughtful. He made her laugh even more than Rat did. True, it did make her feel guilty, getting so close to him, as she would be leaving soon, and Tom would probably end up with his father behind bars. As awful as she did feel, it was all worth it for the electric current her heart gave out when she looked at him. His dark hair flopped over his dark eyes, and he smiled a perfect smile at her before they walked off. They were going to his house tonight, a perfect excuse to have a nose around and plant some listening devices in his father's main office.

Tom lived with his parents Michael and Lucy Bourne in a huge Victorian house on Marina Lawns. It was within short walking distance from the comprehensive school Lauren was temporarily attending. The size of the house was a clear give away that he was very well-off. Little did his classmates know, Tom's father was one of the biggest faces in UK drug dealing. He had to change his mobile number constantly, had hundreds of people, including children, working for him, and was constantly under watch from British Intelligence. Michael Bourne knew very well that they were on his tail, but he had no idea that his only child's new friend was one of them, planting cameras and photocopying documents in his house.

Lauren did a quick survey of the house as she entered. She found out after 'looking for the toilet' that Michael Bourne was working in his office, and Lucy was chatting with girlfriends in a huge living room, drinking wine and eating olives. This meant that she had no chance of getting any work done that evening. For the first time in a hard working CHERUB career, she honestly didn't care. She was pleased in fact. She and Tom spent two hours lying on his bed listening to The Fratellis album and talking about everything. Except it wasn't. Lauren couldn't tell him everything.

'So, you think you might have to go back to London soon?' Tom whispered, rolling over so he was looking Lauren in the eye.

'Mmm... I think so yeah. I don't want to though. I want to stay, you know, I, like it here.' Lauren said, speaking every word of truth.

'With me?' Tom questioned. Lauren hoped he wanted to hear what she was going to say.

'Yes' she admitted, looking into his deep chocolate eyes. This boy was the son, the flesh and blood of a very bad man, who had broken the law, and continued to do so every day. But surely that didn't make him bad himself? Lauren realised how unfair life actually was. She wished she could tell him everything, about her brother, about the death of her mum, about CHERUB. But she couldn't. And his life was going to be torn to pieces because of her.

'I don't want you to leave, either' Tom said, reaching out and proceeding to fiddle with Lauren's blond hair. 'I won't just miss you, but you're the only real friend I have. I'll be by myself again once you've left.'

Tom didn't mix well with the other kids at school. They didn't dare beat him up; he was tall and he wasn't geeky; but all of the year 9s ignored him because of his posh accent, and the fact he actually tried in lessons. It had bothered him until he met Lauren, but now he didn't need anyone else. His father never gave a damn about him, he was too busy running his dodgy imports company, and his mother just left him alone; she was happier getting eyebrow waxes and drinking pink wine with her lady-who-lunch friends.

Tom had always been well behaved. He was always healthy, never tried drugs, cigarettes or alcohol despite his close proximity to them, and he never ended up in fights. He didn't fit in at all.

Tom rolled over and kissed Lauren on the lips several times; she was in a blissful happiness. She was woken from it with a jolt. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she jumped up from the bed. She flipped it open. CHLOE BLAKE CALLING the display read. Lauren searched for an excuse to leave. She gave up on good excuses and used the first one in her head.

'My mum says I need to go home now. No excuses.' Lauren tried.

'Right now? That sucks.' Tom said. He pecked Lauren on the cheek. 'Bye.' He said, sliding his hands into the pockets of his pants.

'See you tomorrow.' Lauren said, hoping that she actually would see him again. She wasn't sure. MI5 thought they had all the information they needed now. The mission was almost finished. She flipped her phone back down, rejecting the call, and slipped it into her pocket. She stood up on her toes, looped her arms round his neck and ferociously kissed Tom. She knew that this was the end, and she fancied him to bits. He joined in and locked his arms round Lauren's waist. It was a good job that both of his parents were downstairs, or they might be slightly worried about the odd noises coming from Tom's room. Lauren wanted him to know that they wouldn't see each other ever again. But she didn't want to leave all her explanations now. It would be better to leave without a trace, or he might try to find her. They continued snogging like crazy, and ended up with Tom's fingers entwined in Lauren's hair, and her hands slipped into Tom's back pockets. The door burst open suddenly, leaving Tom and Lauren gazing into the eyes of a huge, laughing man.


	2. Chapter 2: Escape

ESCAPE

**ESCAPE**

'Hehe.' Guffawed the huge man 'Look at this, Jeff' he said, gesturing at Lauren and Tom, who quickly untangled themselves from each other.

'Come on.' The guy who must be Jeff said 'We can't waste our time looking at two kids getting busy with each other. We have to find Michael Bourne.'

'Shiiiiit!' Lauren and Tom said simultaneously, before trying to make a run from Jeff and the other huge guy.

'Rico! Get 'em down quick. You know we bloody can't waste time!' Jeff yelled, and Rico, doing as he was told, made a lunge for Lauren, who was closer to him than Tom was.

'Hello,' he whispered, waggling his tongue at her.

'PERV!' Lauren yelled, elbowing him in the gut, wriggling away from him and running to the window. She opened it and jumped onto the lower roof, not even bearing to glance back as Tom squealed in Rico's chokehold.

Lauren looked down. The jump was about 9ft. She'd done that before, on a CHERUB assault course, it was easy. But last time she was wearing thick army-standard boots. This time she wore light black ballet pumps. She knew that the shock impact would be painful on her legs, so she just had to bear it as she made the jump from the roof. It wasn't so bad. She continued running, jumped over back garden fence and ran round the corner. As soon as she knew she was safe, she recovered her phone fro her pocket and called Chloe. She decided to be honest about what went wrong.

'Hi, Chloe?' Lauren began.

'Lauren! Are you OK? Why did you reject my call? What went wrong?'

'Well... I was kissing Tom I guess. I knew it would be the end, and we both really fancy each other. These two huge men come in, looking for Michael Bourne. Rico and Jeff, I think.'

'I know the ones. Go on.'

'They tried to get me and Tom down. I don't know what happened to him, but I managed to escape. Shit... I don't know what happened to Tom!'

'I'll excuse your language this once, but you've made mistakes Lauren. You shouldn't have got so close in the first place. You should have answered the phone. I knew that people were coming. Tom would be safe now if you had answered.'

'Oh god, I know.' Lauren sobbed with guilt. A boy had ruined her mission. She was turning into James. She couldn't let this happen again. And poor Rat, if he found out. He still liked her. 'I'm coming back, okay?'

She jogged back to the house, to find out she would be going back to campus first thing in the morning. Away from Tom.


	3. Chapter 3: Over

OVER

**OVER**

Tom got out of the shower, and limped over to the mirror. Every bone in his body ached after the fight with Rico and Jeff. It had definitely been a losing fight. He touched the long scar on the right side of his face. Sure, the sticky red line had been stitched up now, but he had a feeling it would scar him for life. A reminder of his last night with Lauren.

Lauren had gone. He had no idea where, or how to find her. She was just gone. She didn't answer her mobile, or reply to his texts. Tom was alone now.

His father had been arrested and his mother arrested too. His father for drug offences, his mother for perverting the course of justice. Tom's world, in a single night, had been torn apart. He jumped quickly from the shower-room to his bedroom in the gloomy children's home. His parents were in custody now, and nobody else wanted him. He wasn't just a bit lonely. He was truly by himself now. He would give anything to have Lauren back. She was the best friend he had ever had.

He put on his unwashed school uniform and walked to his old school alone. He saw the rest of the year 9 boys, and the beatings resumed.

'Hey scarface' a hard-looking boy in the other class called. 'D'you want one on the other side to match?'

Tom had given up. Everything good in his life was over and the dark was clouding around him. He had no dignity. He crawled over to a bench, under a tree, where he and Lauren used to sit. He cried.


	4. Chapter 4: Finances

FINANCES

**FINANCES**

Kate Rogers sighed. She had no idea how on earth she was going to cope. She knew her job was dodgy, and there would always be risks, but she had to keep her children fed and under a roof. Now she was without an income or any means of support. She had lost her job at a drugs packaging company when the boss ended up locked up, a week ago.

Kate was 23, and had three kids under the age of seven. They all seemed restless and hungry from the netto own brand pizzas they'd been eating all week. Any way to save money was important now, and Kate spent every last bit of time searching for a job. She has no savings, trust funds or close family. Nothing to fall back on. Her eldest, Rhys, who was only 7, tugged at her waistband.

'Mum, I'm 'ungry. There's no crisps or nothin'. He whined.

'I know sweetie. I'll get some more later.' Kate sighed. She would have to go shopping. Spend more money. More money she didn't have.


	5. Chapter 5: Death

Chapter 5

**Chapter 5****: DEATH**

Lauren was pleased in some ways to be back on campus. It had been a long mission, made shorter only by Tom's presence. She was desperate to have a long bath, to see her friends, and even to see her brother. After a bath, and a good nights sleep in a bed that wasn't lumpy, she went to see her brother in his room. She walked in on him watching TV by himself.

'Hey bro.' she said, waltzing over and giving him a hug. His face was slimmer and his shoulders wider. His eyes stayed transfixed on the screen. Lauren laughed.

'Why are you watching the news? You never seemed to care about what was going on before.' She asked.

'I was just flicking. But look at this!' He said, shaking his head and gesturing towards the screen. Words flicked across the bottom of the screen, spelling out what Lauren didn't want to hear.

DRUG DEALER'S SON DIES IN TRAGIC SUICIDE ATTEMPT

Those words didn't verify anything, of course, but as soon as she saw it she knew.

'No...' she said, in denial that this could happen. The middle aged female news reader explained and elaborated Tom's fate.

'A thirteen year old boy has died after hanging himself in the early hours of this morning. The boy, whose name we cannot yet release, was the son of notorious drug dealer Michael Bourne, who was recently arrested for drugs dealing charges. It is believed that the child was well liked but may have had problems with bullies.'

Lauren screamed, howled, burst into tears. She couldn't believe she was hearing this. She sobbed into James' shoulder blade. He had no idea what was going on.

'What's wrong Lauren? What?' he asked. Lauren gathered herself up, just enough to explain the problem.

'I knew him. He was... my mission... target.' She snivelled. James couldn't believe what he was hearing. His eyes welled up with sympathy. 'He... my boyfriend... love him... best friend.'

'Oh my god Lauren.' James said, shocked, unable to think of something to justify this news. 'You sure it's him?'

'Positive.' She nodded. 'Son of drug dealer, Michael Bourne. Dear god, he was so nice to me as well.'

James had killed a man. Watched people die. Seen his own mother dead. Nothing compared to the sinking feeling of death. Tom had killed himself. He had wanted to die.

The mission had led to his death, Lauren realised. She was the culprit. She had helped kill him. If it was not for her, his dad may not be in prison. He would live a normal life, without any suspicion of his father's dodgy deeds.

'I helped kill him.' Lauren whispered.


	6. Chapter 6: Saved An alternative ending

A Different Ending

**A Different Ending**

Lauren was pleased in some ways to be back on campus. It had been a long mission, made shorter only by Tom's presence. She was desperate to have a long bath, to see her friends, and even to see her brother. After a bath, and a good nights sleep in a bed that wasn't lumpy, she went to see her brother in his room. She walked in on him watching TV by himself.

'Hey bro.' she said, waltzing over and giving him a hug. His face was slimmer and his shoulders wider. His glanced at her and hugged her back.

'Nice to see you. Oh Lauren... you're wanted in the mission preparation building, like, now.'

'Alright. I best be off then. Bye!' she said, as she went out the door. She wondered why she was wanted.

Her mission controller, Chloe Blake, grabbed her as soon as she entered the building.

'Lauren, I've got news.' Chloe began, before they even had a chance to sit down. 'Tom isn't coping well in his new home, he appears to be, well, depressed. He is frequently harming himself and we're worried that if it gets any worse, he may try to kill himself.' Lauren was shocked, but managed to keep herself together. 'We want you to go and see him, explain your disappearance, maybe keep in touch with him. As quickly as possible, we don't want him to hurt himself anymore.'

'Course I will, Chloe, I'll do anything that can help.' Lauren said. 'Can we go now then?' she asked. It was selfish, but she was pleased that she'd been given an excuse to see Tom again. The poor guy was probably just lonely.

'He'll probably be at the beach if you go there. We've been keeping an eye on him. He's been spending a lot of time there.' Chloe told her.

'Ok, great.' Lauren said, and began to leave.

'One more thing Lauren.'

'Hmmm?' She wondered.

'Will you take your brother with you? I'll drive you down, but I want someone with you. You can say he's your cousin.'

'Sure.' Lauren said. She was a bit annoyed of course, her brother would ridicule her when he saw her with a boyfriend, but any negative feelings were overridden with the knowledge that she would soon see Tom.

She packed an overnight bag, and explained everything to her brother, reminding him to be nice to Tom. They set off in the car with Chloe a little before 1 O'clock, and made the 3 hour journey to the coast. They left their bags at the house where Chloe and Lauren had been staying previously, and jogged round the corner to Tom's children's home. He wasn't there. Lauren and James took Chloe's advice and left for the beach, a 20 minute walk away. It was growing gradually colder, windier and wetter. Lauren and James could think of places in the world they'd love to be, and a windswept beach in Liverpool wasn't one of them. They could see a tiny, dark haired figure perched on top of a sand dune. It wasn't sure to be Tom, but it looked likely. In order to get to the sand dune, they had to walk across about 500m of damp sand. They were against the wind. Salty rain and flecks of sand slapped them in the face and stuck in their eyes. Lauren hoped her hair didn't look too messy. She was excited, in a sick twisted way, even though she knew he would be feeling awful. They arrived at the figure, which they could see was Tom, and climbed up the dune. He recognised Lauren through the sea's spray, and his eyes lit up. His face was horrifically pale. Even though it was freezing, Tom wore only a thin t-shirt and jeans. His feet were bare. His arms were covered in scratches and cuts, and were red and patchy with wind burn. His dark hair was greasy and an unkempt mess. His eyes were damp and pink, with purple bruise like rings under them. None of that compared to the scar- a huge brown line down the side of his face. Despite all this, Lauren was attracted to him hugely. She felt a rush like never before as she ran over and kissed him.

'Wait... Lauren... who's this?' Tom asked, gesturing at James and stroking Lauren's cheek. 'You... got a new boyfriend. You came to tell me didn't you? To ruin everything! Oh god no...'

'Don't worry, Tom.' Lauren said, trying to be calm, collected and patient. 'This is my cousin, James. He's cool.' She explained, not once looking away from Tom's eyes. She knew that he had gone completely crazy in the last few days. He had changed so much, and Lauren, although still fancying him, didn't feel comfortable around him. He worried her. She was only acting so close to him because she didn't want to send him over his mental edge. She pressed her lips to his once more. James was disgusted. Lauren sure had guts. This guy was clearly a total nutcase, and she was willingly commencing in lip lock with him. He looked away before he made himself sick.

'So... Tom...' Lauren said, attempting to breach the difficult subject. 'Are you... Ok?

'Yes. I'm fine. You?' he said innocently.

'You sure about that, I mean, your not cold or hungry or hurt or anything? Look, have this.' Lauren tossed him a Galaxy bar from her pocket. He bit down on it, clearly relishing the calories. He looked to be enjoying it very much. 'D'you want to come and stay with us for the night? I mean, at our house?'

'I'd love to. You see, I'm not happy. I'm lonely without you Lauren. Please stay.'

'I'll try. But I can't for long.' She said. Lauren hated making promises she couldn't keep. She and James helped Tom up. He was limping. Lauren winced when she saw the open cuts on his arm. Some had become slightly infected and were tinted a green colour. They looked excruciatingly painful. They all walked back to the tiny house where Chloe was waiting for them. The three of them cleaned up Tom's wounds and sprayed them with antiseptic. He had a hot bath, while Lauren, James and Chloe sat in the living room discussing Tom's future. Lauren, of course, was dead set on him becoming an agent, he had the perfect criteria, but he was simply too old to start now. He came down, dressed in clean clothes, and beaming. He was so much happier now he was with Lauren.

There was nothing to do for the rest of the night, so they all sat down on the tiny sofa and watched 'About a Boy' on DVD. Tom had never seen it before, and found it hilarious. Lauren was so happy, snuggled up next to Tom. She tried to concentrate on the movie, but that was impossible when she could feel his lips on her hair. It was blissful.

She had saved Tom.


End file.
